May 10, 2019 3.36 pm This story is over 58 months old

Local Democracy Weekly: Let them eat cake and remember 1,000 nights of closure

Sometimes shouting isn’t as impactful
In May 2019, Campaigners from Fighting 4 Grantham Hospital and supporters marked 1,000 days of A&E overnight closure with a cake presented to the ULHT board then led by former chief executive Jan Sobieraj.

There are numerous ways you can get your message across to leaders- protests, angry letters, shouting across tables – but one group this week baked up a tastier, more passive-aggressive, plan.

Campaigners from Fighting 4 Grantham Hospital, entered the meeting of United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust with a cake.

It was designed to highlight how on Monday, May 13, Grantham Hospital’s A&E will have been closed overnight for 1,000 days.

The creation included calendars with the days crossed off, and slogans such as “ULHT breaking hearts”.

It was also designed to remind board members that the campaigners, who attend most board meetings, were still watching from the sidelines and still having their say.

Residents still want to see their A&E opened 24/7, and many of them do not agree with the most recent Healthy Conversations announcement of it becoming an Urgent Treatment Centre, especially if it is accessed at night via 111 rather than simply walking in.

The cake presented to health bosses on Tuesday.

If it’s accessed via 111 they say, it is not a true 24/7 service.

Grantham still has a way to go. Bosses said permanent staffing levels at A&Es were still a third of what they should be.

There are discussions about whether a new hospital is another solution.

After three years of shouting for more health provisions from the rooftops, if campaigners achieve any of their demands now it’ll be the icing on the cake.  — DANIEL JAINES

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